


The Illusionist

by cloaked__schemer



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: F/M, Tumblr drabbles, hehe i was really proud of my writing so im posting it here toooooo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-19
Updated: 2015-01-24
Packaged: 2018-03-08 05:47:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 4,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3197699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cloaked__schemer/pseuds/cloaked__schemer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Various drabbles/short fanfics from my tumblr account, all revolving mostly around Ienzo and/or Zexion!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Worlds and Stars

**Author's Note:**

> Just a series of drabbles and fanfics too short to be their own stories. A majority of these come from prompts from my followers, and I will indicate in these notes if they are. Enjoy! Follow me on tumblr, cloaked--schemer if you want more of these; I'm more like to post there than I am here.
> 
> PROMPT: Kairi and Ienzo lie on the ground as they stared at the millions of stars in the sky. "What were the other worlds like?" She asked.  
> FROM: inside-the-mountain

Kairi and Ienzo lie on the ground as they stared at the millions of stars in the sky. “What were the other worlds like?” She asked.

Ienzo hummed as he tried to think up an answer for her, “Well, is there any specific world you would like to know about? I visited many different places while I was Zexion.”

"No, any world will do," Kairi shook her head, looking at him with a smile, "I just want to hear about any and all worlds. They all sound so interesting."

Ienzo nodded, biting on the inside of his cheek as he thought of a world that Kairi might have liked to hear about. Beast’s Castle? No; it was much too similar to Radiant Garden. Perhaps he could tell her about The Land of Dragons? No…he could barely remember anything from that world; he had only visited it once or twice. Maybe Atlantica…?

"Hmm…well, every world is unique in it’s own manner," Ienzo began, trying to remember as many details from as many worlds as he could at once, "Some worlds are completely underwater, and you can become a sea creature! That world is known as Atlantica, and most humans or human-like beings become merpeople while they are there. Unfortunately, I had the shortest tail of all of the Organisation, which was something that Braig – er, Xigbar – enjoyed laughing at…"

Kairi frowned at that, muttering something about him not being able to help that, but also laughing softly, presumably at the thought of a merman Ienzo. He sighed with a smile and continued.

"There are other worlds that cause you to change, as well, but the most notable are Halloween Town and the Pride Lands. The first is purely a costume change to allow you to fit in more, giving you a spooky look. I myself was a ghost; it was kind of fun to float above my cohorts and not be the shortest there anymore," he laughed as he remembered the missions, as well as recounting a couple of the most memorable, including when he and Xigbar had first visited the world and the ‘older’ Nobody was finally at a lower height than Zexion.

"He wouldn’t have been happy about that!" Kairi laughed with Ienzo, taking his hand as she urged him to continue, "What about the other one? The Pride Lands?"

"That was the one world I was never able to go on a solo mission to," Ienzo recounted, looking like he was thinking a fair way back now, "On this world, humans and Nobodies take the form of the animals I showed you from the ‘savannah’ section of that wildlife book I was reading. Lions, hyenas, creatures like that. I was no different, but I appeared to be much younger and smaller than the other members. I always had to have a partner on missions to the Pride Lands in case I got into any danger due to my size…"

Kairi lost it then, rolling over to face Ienzo properly as she laughed uncontrollably, “Oh, you were a tiny lion! Just like Sora said he was! Aww, I bet you were so cute!” She moved close to Ienzo, making the blush that had appeared on his cheeks when she had laughed at his story of the Pride Lands darken a little more. They lay in silence for a while, Ienzo putting his arm around Kairi after a few minutes and her cuddling a little closer, “I can’t wait until I’ve finished my training. Then we can go and visit all those worlds together.”

"I can’t wait either," Ienzo smiled at her, "it’ll be incredible to return to those worlds once more, to do good this time, not evil."


	2. The Ugly Duckling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A story from Ienzo's youngest days; when his parents were alive, proves to be a little too relatable.
> 
> PROMPT: As always, Ienzo found himself alone in that large library.  
> FROM: ghostmarch

As always, Ienzo found himself alone in that large library. While he felt the most comfortable there, the small boy always silently wished for company his own age. Aeleus was a great friend, sure, but it just wasn’t the same as before he had come to the castle. Before his parents had died; back when he had real friends.

He struggled to reach a small book from the children’s shelf, that was in a rather inconvenient place for their target audience. He didn’t usually read these books; he wanted to look more grown up, reading books thicker than his skinny arms. But today, Ienzo couldn’t hold up his serene, quiet façade.

He was lonely. He wanted real friends. Attention from people who weren’t just reading a report and praising him.

The book Ienzo had pulled down was titled ‘The Ugly Duckling’. His mother and father used to read this book to him at night, but he had never reached the end, having always fallen asleep just before he found out what happened to the duckling. He had never tried to read it during the day; it had been his own personal challenge to see if he might make it to the end of the story one night, even if he was exhausting himself by forcing his eyes open and keeping his mind semi-alert.

Ienzo wanted to know what happened to the duckling, because at this point in his young life, he felt as lonely and unwanted as the story’s main character.

Usually he would have breezed through a book of this size in mere minutes, but Ienzo read each word slowly, and carefully inspected each image. The lonely duckling wasn’t wanted by his fellows. Ienzo was always bullied by the town’s children now when he exited the castle. The duckling was crying because he didn’t feel accepted; he felt like a complete outsider. Ienzo felt his own eyes well up as he remembered nights when he simply couldn’t hold himself together and cried until he finally fell asleep. The duckling and Ienzo shared too many similarities.

He paused to sniffle and rub at his eyes with the sleeves of his white coat, which had rolled back down to cover his hands at some point.

Ienzo picked the book back up, determined to finish the story.

Eventually, the duckling was sad for a long time. Ienzo knew he’d probably be sad for a very long time, as well. But then the story took a turn for the best, as the duckling began to mature in a gorgeous, confident swan. Ienzo was stunned by the way the story had changed so dramatically. His eyes watered once again however; what if he didn’t grow out of his own sadness? What if he didn’t, metaphorically, grow into a swan? He began to sob as he put the book down, pulling his knees up and burying his face in them, feeling pathetic for crying but being unable to help himself.

Ienzo didn’t hear the quiet patter of tiny feet as a small girl, slightly younger than he was, with bright red hair approached him. She crouched beside him, tilting her head to the side slightly, looking unsure as to why someone would be crying in a library. She nudged his arm slightly to get his attention.

"Hey. Why are you sad?" She asked him, getting a bit closer to him, "Please don’t be sad, okay? Why don’t you come with me! We can go out into the garden and pick flowers, and my grandma might tell us a story!"

Ienzo had gone with her, but hadn’t payed much attention to what she said. All he picked was that her name was Kairi and that she was four years old, but past that, he spent the entire time thinking about the lonely, ugly duckling. Perhaps now would be his turning point; maybe Kairi would be his friend, and she could help him grow into his own happy, beautiful self, just as the duckling had.

—-

Many years later, Ienzo roamed the Radiant Garden library once again. He and Kairi were searching for something that Even had asked for, but we’re having little luck finding it.

It was several minutes later that Ienzo came across several books piled on a table beneath a staircase. He looked through all of them, but nothing interested him or seemed to be what Even had needed, and he had been prepared to turn to leave when he noticed the final book of the pile.

The Ugly Duckling.

Ienzo let out a gasp as he held the book. He had been very young when he had last touched this; it now seemed much, much smaller to him, and he would have ignored it if he had remembered the story properly. He opened the book, sitting down in the same chair he had all those years before, taking in every word and every picture, as he had when he was a child. He was still sad when he saw the duckling was sad, but the ending brought his spirits right back up again

"Ienzo? Did you find it?"

Ienzo put the book down and rushed over to Kairi, pulling her into a tight hug. Kairi was confused, but didn’t question Ienzo as he began to thank her over and over.

He had become a swan, just as the duckling had.


	3. Gloves

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Zexion contemplates the existence of Nobodies.
> 
> PROMPT: The thing about wearing gloves all the time is how unreal and out of reach the world starts to feel after a while--which is funny, given that you're the one who's not supposed to exist.  
> FROM: punkxion

The thing about wearing gloves all the time is how unreal and out of reach the world starts to feel after a while—which is funny, given that you’re the one who’s not supposed to exist.

Zexion sighed as he stared at his hands. He didn’t know what had triggered this stream of thoughts relating to his untouchable the world was for him; how his existence was a problematic and unreal one; how much damage these hands had caused as he did everything his powers of illusion would allow to get his heart back

The amount of hearts he’d caused pain to, as they were released from the prison of darkness the Heartless encased them in. Perhaps he wasn’t truly causing pain, in that case…but then he remembered – he couldn’t truly collect hearts. Only the Keyblade could do that.

Any hearts released by himself, or any other Organisation member whose number was within I and XII, would simply be swallowed back into another Heartless, but into the darkness, back into a terrifying, clutching, biting cage of dark tendrils and the worst nightmares one could think of.

Did Zexion truly want his heart back with that thought? That it had been tortured by creatures formed of his own darkness, his own bitterness and loneliness over being left alone after Ienzo’s parents had perished. The darkness that had been honed and had steadily grown after Xehanort had appeared…

Zexion shook his head. Of course he wanted his heart back. He wanted to exist once more, to feel, to laugh, to cry, to smile and feel it be real, not just an emotionless reaction. Just be real instead of being an empty nothing.

He huffed, picking up his Lexicon and exiting his room. The thoughts that entered his head as he looked at his gloved hands…


	4. The Best Night of my Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It seems Ienzo's been planning something special over the past view months...
> 
> PROMPT: Kairi moved the socks out of the way and gasped, covering her mouth with her hand as she stared at the meant-to-be hidden jewelry box in the drawer.  
> FROM: thundaclap

Kairi moved the socks out of the way and gasped, covering her mouth with her hand as she stared at the meant-to-be hidden jewelry box in the drawer. “Oh my gosh…i-is it…?”

She picked up the small box, holding it carefully, as if it were made of the most fragile glass, as if one wrong move might shatter it. She didn’t dare open it, just looked over the red velvet of the box with wide, shocked eyes. Was Ienzo…truly planning on proposing to her? Had he finally worked up the courage to pop a question that big…?

Looking back into the drawer Kairi found several pieces of paper. They all had dates written on them, the furthest reaching back to three months prior. Each note contained ideas about what Ienzo might do for her on the night (or day, in a couple of cases) that he would propose. They were all seemed very detailed, but Kairi did not read them all; she didn’t want to spoil that magical day more than she might have already. She placed the papers and the box back into the drawer, covering them once again with all of the brightly-coloured and slightly obnoxious socks that Ienzo owned. She couldn’t help but smile and giggle; her sweet little scientist. What a dork he could be.

——

A couple of weeks later, Kairi was seated at a table at a fine restaurant, comfortably full after a sharing a large meal with Ienzo, along with an absolutely delicious cake for desert. He had planned this whole thing, right down to the point where there were candles on their table completely different the everyone else in the restaurant; the table cloth a beautiful, bright pink instead of the white of the others; and there was a large vase in the centre of the table, full of flowers that Ienzo had apparently picked and arranged himself. She smiled, remembering the adorable blush that had settled on his cheeks when Kairi told him that she knew that this night would be perfect.

Ienzo had left the table a minute or so ago to go to the bathroom, leaving Kairi to mull over today and how perfect it had been. Ienzo had woken her with a rich, lovely breakfast with her favourite absolute; pancakes with strawberries and cream. Her mouth watered at the thought of the delicious treats. The day had gone on as normal; Kairi went to work, went grocery shopping, all that jazz. But she had come home to a completely clean, but empty house; the only sign that Ienzo had been home that day was a note on their bedroom door;

"I have planned dinner for us tonight at 7:00 pm at the new restaurant near the river. I have booked you an appointment at the salon and have payed for a dress I thought you may have liked to wear tonight. You don’t have to wear it though, of course; the choice is yours. Cannot wait to see you, my princess. —Ienzo"

Kairi had worn the beautiful black, white, and pink dress that Ienzo had picked out for her, her hair and makeup had been done at a professional level, and she felt like this would be the night of her life.

Ienzo returned several moments later, pulling her up from her seat and looking right into her eyes.

"Kairi. You’ve…you’ve been there for me since I was a child, helped me overcome so many things that impacted me after my parents…after they were killed…" He paused a moment, taking a deep breath and continuing, "I love you Kairi. I love you more than any other person I’ve ever met, and I’m trying not to stumble over my words right now because I’m so nervous and you look so beautiful tonight, and…"

Kairi was smiling so widely at him she was surprised her cheeks weren’t splitting. Hearing Ienzo just rambling about how much he loved her was so endearing and adorable…she could help but let out a small laugh, patting him on the arm. urging him to go on.

"I’ve been thinking about this for months, and I finally found how to make this night perfect," he had one hand at his pocket now, and Kairi felt her breath hitch in anticipation, "Kairi…"

There was a series of gasps from other patrons, as Ienzo pulled out the small velvet box she had seen in the sock drawer weeks ago, going down on one knee as he opened it to reveal a gorgeous golden ring with three pink jewels imbedded into it. Ienzo took a deep breath.

"Kairi. Will you marry me?"

Kairi covered her mouth again as her eyes began to water; she was stunned for a moment, frozen as happiness stronger than any she had every felt swept through her. She nodded vigorously as tears of pure joy began to roll down her cheeks.

"Yes!" She removed her hands from her mouth, placing them over her chest; over her heart, "Yes, Ienzo!"

Ienzo stood back up, placing the ring on the table and near-tackled her, wrapping his arms around her tightly, a quiet sob of happiness escaping his throat as he held her. All around them, customers began to clap, whistle, and congratulate them, as Ienzo pulled back and planted a kiss to Kairi’s lips.

When they broke apart, he placed his forehead against hers and looked right into her teary eyes with his own. “I love you so much, Kairi,” he whispered.

"I love you too, Ienzo," she whispered back, putting her arms around her now-fiancé once again.


	5. Prince and Princess

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Flower crowns, princes, and princesses.
> 
> PROMPT: Once she put the finishing touches on it, Kairi giggled as she placed the flower crown on Ienzo's head before saying, "Now you look like a proper prince!"  
> FROM: stormcrests

Once she put the finishing touches on it, Kairi giggled as she placed the flower crown on Ienzo’s head before saying, “Now you look like a proper prince!”

Ienzo looked up from his book as he felt the crown be placed on his head, following by Kairi brushing his hair with her fingers to her liking. His cheeks gained a dusting of pink when he heard the nickname of ‘prince’; lately she had been referring to him as such, for a reason he did not know. The term caused him to become slightly embarrassed and flustered, which led to Kairi playfully teasing him, telling him how cute he was when he got like this.

"K-Kairi, may I ask…" Ienzo cleared his throat, trying to force away the nervous hitch that seemed to accompany his voice, "why do you keep calling me prince? We both know that I’m not royalty, nor do I particularly deserve a title like this one."

Kairi stopped brushing through Ienzo’s hair to move in front of him, a wide smile on her lips. She took his hands and ran her thumbs around his knuckles while looking him right in the eye.

"You are a prince. Don’t deny it, Ienzo," Kairi told him, reaching up and adjusting the flower crown on his head just a touch as it began to slip off when he tiled his head to the side.

"I’m no prince, and I have no idea what you’re talking about," he looked away from her, thinking about what could possibly make him a prince.

"Ienzo, look at me," Kairi waited until Ienzo looked up and locked eyes with her before she continued, "what’s that nickname that you give me? You know, that one you usually use when you’re all sleepy and over-affectionate?" She let go of Ienzo’s hands to cross her arms, scrunching her face up as she faked not knowing the answer to the question she had asked.

It dawned on Ienzo then.

"P…" Ienzo’s face went red as his voice hitched once again, "Princess…?"

"Yep!" Kairi grinned, pulling Ienzo into a tight hug, "and every princess needs her own prince or princess; and you’re mine."


	6. Knight in Shining Armour

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little Kairi's gonna save a prince in need of a hand!
> 
> PROMPT: There were days when Kairi wanted to be the knight in shining armor, not the princess locked in her tower.  
> FROM: mallowkey

There were days when Kairi wanted to be the knight in shining armor, not the princess locked in her tower. Sure, being a princess was fun and all, but being locked up! How boring! She wanted to fight dragons and protect someone else, someone who couldn’t protect themselves. Kairi just wanted to be the hero for once; not the damsel in distress.

She was down in her favourite part of Radiant Garden one day; the flowers nearest to the castle were always the nicest. She hummed as she plucked several of the pretty pansies and daisies, putting them in a tight bunch all together; this one would be for her grandmother. She always loved it when Kairi picked flowers for her. She would even put them in a vase and set them on the table for all their guests to see! And everyone would compliment them!

Kairi wondered if the sad boy who lived in the castle was out today; she wanted to be friends with him. It was no fun being alone all the time, and neither was being around adults – especially the smart ones that were caring for him. She started looking around, hoping to pick out his white coat or silvery hair…

"Hmph! What a little nerd!"

Kairi heard a small grunt, and that odd fluttering paper noise that books made when they hid the ground. Standing several feet away was a group of three kids; one with platinum blond hair; another with hair that seemed to be bright pink, of all colours; and a yellow-haired girl. They were looking down at what seemed to be a puddle of white with some books beside it, and Kairi would’ve left them alone had the puddle not stirred and revealed a small face half-hidden by hair. One of the bullies, the one with yellow hair, kicked the boy in the back, causing him to let out a whimper, curling in on himself.

"A kid like you doesn’t belong in the castle," the one with platinum blonde hair laughed.

"Not even on this world!" That was the one with the bright pink hair, also laughing as they sent a kick to the boy’s side.

Kairi couldn’t stand by and let the poor boy on the ground get bullied! She ran up to the kid closest to her – the platinum blond one – and grabbed at his shirt, pulling him back, nearly managing to make him fall over.

"Leave him alone! You shouldn’t be bullying people smaller than you, you big meanies! You shouldn’t be bullying anyone at all!" She stomped her foot at the end for emphasis, her tiny voice not threatening at all. She crossed her arms, hoping to look at least a little bit intimidating, but all the older kids did was laugh at her.

"What are you gonna do about it, princess?" The girl with yellow hair sneered, moving away from the boy to get closer to Kairi, "You gonna cry to your mama and get her to make us stop? Ha! Just try it – I dare you!"

"I’m not a princess!" Kairi snapped, "I’m a knight! And I’m gonna save him!"

She ran forward, kicking the girl in front of her in the shin, before doing the same to the other two, making them let out very loud shouts of pain.

"Dolur – do something!"

"Like what? I wanted no part in this game, Arlene! We only came here because Lumaria wanted to!" The boy with platinum blond hair shouted, finally named. He pointed at the pink-haired boy, "you get her!"

Lumaria limped towards her, a look of pain and determination on his features, but was quickly stopped in his tracks when a particular scientist’s screechy shouting was heard.

"Damn it, not him!" Arlene hissed, "you win this round, losers; but we’ll be back to get you both!"

The three of them all ran off, their shins obviously still hurting. Kairi put her hands on her hips, laughing proudly. She’d saved the boy! Now she had to check on him. He looked scared; terrified even, clutching his arm to his stomach. Whether the arm, his stomach, or both hurt was a mystery though, because the boy refused to speak.

"I can’t help you if you don’t talk to me!" Kairi huffed, crossing her arms, "can you at least tell me your name? I’m Kairi!"

The boy didn’t reply, only pointed to one of the books that he had dropped. It had the name ‘Ienzo’ printed on it, but Kairi had a hard time figuring that out; she was a fantastic reader, but the name was strange to her.

"E…enzo? Ee-n-zo?" Kairi tried sounding the name out. The boy nodded minutely, making her grin widely. Got it in one! Nearly.

"Ienzo…? Ienzo! What in Radiant Garden happened to you?"

It was the grouchy scientist from the castle, the one that always shouted at everyone, and looked scary. Kairi explained what happened, but left out the fact that the scientist’s shouting was probably what sent Ienzo’s bullies running; she liked being Ienzo’s knight. The scientist nodded after hearing her story, and thanked Kairi for helping the Ienzo, who was now cowering behind the tall man. His books were held by his guardian, as Ienzo’s own arm had been hurt too badly, and eventually the two began to walk off.

"T-thank you for saving me," Ienzo looked at her with that one tortured blue eye, "w-will I get to see you again?"

Kairi nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah! My grandma brings me to the garden all the time! I can’t wait to play with you properly next time!" She replied, before waving to the scientists and Ienzo as they vanished into the castle.

Kairi could really get used to this knight in shining armour thing…


End file.
